Formal regions are those that are designated by official boundaries, such as cities, states, counties, and countries. For the most part, they are clearly indicated and publicly known.
Functional regions are defined by their connections. For example, the circulation area for a major city newspaper is the functional region of that paper. (This means that there must be a core that extends outward in terms of influence. That influence will diminish over distance. Thus, one could say that, for example, much of Gyeonggi-do is part of the "Seoul region".
Vernacular regions are perceived regions, such as "The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East;" they have no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps.
- taken from Five Themes of Geography by Matt Rosenberg (About.com)
Regions: The Final Theme of the Five Themes
There are three different types of regions:
- Formal regions are those that are designated by official boundaries, such as cities, states, counties, and countries. For the most part, they are clearly indicated and publicly known.
- Functional regions are defined by their connections. For example, the circulation area for a major city newspaper is the functional region of that paper. (This means that there must be a core that extends outward in terms of influence. That influence will diminish over distance. Thus, one could say that, for example, much of Gyeonggi-do is part of the "Seoul region".
- Vernacular regions are perceived regions, such as "The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East;" they have no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps.
- taken from Five Themes of Geography by Matt Rosenberg (About.com)